Monday, April 8, 2013

Grilling season is rapidly approaching, and chances are good
that at some point you’ll be faced with a few leftover grilled chicken breasts.
Will you take the easy way out, and make chicken salad? Or, will you be brave
and attempt something way more interesting, like this Cashew Chicken? Probably the chicken salad, but I
decided to post this just in case.

Yes, I’m at it again, making food that’s not trying to be
Asian, yet looks close enough to upset people anyway. I can’t do anything about
that, and won't be dissuaded from using sweet, rich cashews, and a spicy, sweet and
sour sauce to disappear some leftover, grilled chicken just because some people will get
annoyed.

Sure, there are a hundred ways to make it “better” or more
“authentic,” but on a weeknight after a long day at work, with your show coming
on in 20 minutes, none of that matters. This isn't about what
you think when you taste it; it’s about what you don’t think. And what you
don’t think is, “this is leftover chicken.”

Having said all that, I would be shocked and amazed if you
didn’t tweak this to your own personal tastes. It really is a versatile recipe,
and one I hope you try soon. Now, get out there and grill too much chicken, and
as always, enjoy!

I nearly always make leftover chicken into Indian food and use a bought source. The other alternative is Thai as I have so much of that green paste. May try this as chicken is so tasteless without an exotic sauce.

Hey ChefHow integral would you say the ketchup component is to the non complexity of this sauce? ......if I didn't know it was in there it probably wouldnt have been an issue but since i'll be the one making it and I have a mild ketchup phobia I'm just wondering if I can make an altered version or just leave this recipe alone altogether. I do like cashew chicken though....Sincerely,-A Very Strange Fan.

This turned out INCREDIBLY!!!!! I didn't have leftover grilled chicken (and sadly I don't have a grill) so I fired up the George Foreman and went to town. I don't recommend it though, it leaves a tough caramelizedish skin on the chicken which makes cubing it a bear! Thanks Chef! I will make this again and again!

I'm from vietnamese heritage and got to say - I love fake asian food. I cook it much more often than real asian food. Just cooked this (with freshly pan-fried chicken breast) and it's really, really delicious - better than most of the stuff you get at asian takeaways here in germany. Didn't have any fresh chilies and doubled the sauce, since my boyfriend LOVES a lot of sauce, and I bet it will be even better tomorrow for lunch (since I always cook our lunches to take with us, on evenings we have the german "Abendbrot" - which is bread. So I'll just then get to eat this delicious stuff... :'(

Chef John,I have a quick question (that I hope you will answer). I can not stand the taste of Cilantro! It tastes like sweatsocks smell, to me. There are lots of recipes that use Cilantro. Is Parsley an O.K. substitute? Thanks!

Of course you can switch one for the other if you want, but I guess it depends on whether Parsley goes well with a particular recipe you're talking about, since it does have a stronger, greener flavor than cilantro.

By the way, as I have mentioned in other videos, 10% of people have receptors on their tongue that makes cilantro taste like soap, and I'm guessing you're one of these people!